Presentation of Mary

This panel, like the next one depicting the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, is noteworthy for its original layout.

Only here did Stoss divide the composition into two parts, thus breaking its coherence. It has been suggested that these might be the oldest fragments of the altarpiece, prepared earlier by the master as a sample of his skills, a model intended for approval by the patrons. There is no evidence to support this, but the panels indicate that the work on the altarpiece was a complex process. The master changed his concepts, his talent matured, and old ideas were replaced by new ones.